Military and Emergency Laws

Passed

P HB11

Board of Military Affairs. Abolishes the Board of Military Affairs. The Board was created in 1930 to advise the Governor and the Adjutant General on military affairs. The need for the Board to meet has diminished since the creation of the Public Safety Secretariat and, during the past seven years, the Board has been completely inactive. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee to Study the Operations, Practices, Duties, and Funding of the Commonwealth's Agencies, Boards, Commissions, Councils, and Other Governmental Entities pursuant to HJR 159 (2002).
Patron - Cox

P HB415

Emergency Services and Disaster Law; annual statewide drill. Requires the Governor to conduct an annual statewide drill on response to a large-scale natural disaster. The drill shall include the participation of local governments, affected state agencies, public utilities, law-enforcement agencies, and other entities as determined by the Governor. The bill also provides for the Governor to report to the chairs of the Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety and the Senate Committee on General Laws on the results of the drill by December 31 of each year.
Patron - Lewis

P HB618

Military and emergency laws; protection of job security of members of military reserves. Allows the Attorney General to represent an employee denied the employment protections of §§ 44-93, 44-93.2, 44-93.3 and 44-93.4 when on active state military duty. The provision would make the enforcement provisions parallel to the federal employment protections available to employees on active federal duty where the United States Department of Labor may intercede and refer cases to the United States Attorney General. This bill incorporates HB 481.
Patron - Carrico

P HB873

Municipalities; alert and warning system. Requires all localities with a population greater than 50,000 to establish an alert and warning system for the dissemination of adequate and timely warning to the public in the event of a warning or threatened disaster. The bill also requires the local governing body to amend its local emergency operations plan to include rules for the operation of its alert and warning plan, which may include outdoor warning sirens, Emergency Alert Systems, NOAA Weather Radios, amateur radio operators, or other personal notification systems that are capable of disseminating adequate and timely warning to the public in the event of an emergency or threatened disaster. The plan must be established by July 1, 2005.
Patron - Van Landingham

Failed

F HB183

Emergency management; local emergency actions. Provides that local emergency actions shall carry the force and effect of law if determined that such force is in the interest of public safety. Violations would be punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Patron - Oder

F HB213

Board of Military Affairs. Abolishes the Board of Military Affairs. The Board was created in 1930 to advise the Governor and the Adjutant General on military affairs. The need for the Board to meet has diminished since the creation of the Public Safety Secretariat and, during the past seven years, the Board has been completely inactive. This bill is identical to HB 11, which was recommended by the Joint Subcommittee to Study the Operations, Practices, Duties, and Funding of the Commonwealth's Agencies, Boards, Commissions, Councils, and Other Governmental Entities pursuant to HJR 159 (2002).
Patron - Athey

F HB481

Carried Over

C HB313

Office of the Assistant to the Governor for Commonwealth Preparedness. Directs the Virginia Emergency Response Council to coordinate with the Office of the Assistant to the Governor for Commonwealth Preparedness to promote security and facilitate preparedness in the Commonwealth.
Patron - Purkey

C HB1195

Local emergency operations plans. Requires localities and interjurisdictional emergency management agencies to include written agreements with relevant public or private entities in their emergency operations plan in order to facilitate the effective, safe and efficient coordination of efforts during governor-declared states of emergency. Such agreements shall be made with, but are not limited to, the Virginia Department of Transportation, and owners or operators of electricity, gas, sewer and water facilities serving the locality or interjurisdictional area. The agreements shall include, but are not limited to, the designation of a contact person available on a 24-hour basis, specified times when the public or private entity must have an employee or agent at the local or interjurisdictional emergency operations center, mutual arrangements regarding work to be done in close proximity to high voltage power lines, and other duties and responsibilities of all parties to such agreements. The bill also requires all political subdivisions to annually update their emergency operations plan.
Patron - Scott, J.M.

C SB693

Emergency services; local authority. Provides that when the Governor has declared a state of emergency, the power of political subdivisions includes the declaration and enforcement of curfews.
Patron - Rerras

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General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2004>Military and Emergency Laws

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